It's not every day that you get to discuss a number 1 album.
Especially one from someone who is a member of K.I.Z., the most well-known, very successful, and perhaps also controversial hip hop formation in Germany, TAREK K.I.Z.
This is TAREK's first solo album, titled “Golem“.
A golem is a human-like, mystical being. A very fitting name for the album and for TAREK.
The twelve tracks on the album are very multifaceted, personal, violent, sad, critical, political, and yearning. It's no wonder that the first track is called “Ticket hier raus“. Hypocrisy, despair, sadness, just wanting to escape from this world, from the problems that increasingly confine you, that take away your breath. A very intense text wrapped in quite catchy music. This is generally nothing incredibly new from K.I.Z., and why should they change this style significantly?
With “Bang Bang“, it starts off even more intensely. Perhaps this is what one would expect? Maybe it's also a deliberate provocation? Fantasies of violence?
...my steak had a better life than you...
...I play basketball with your severed head...
...say my name, and I xxx your grandmother,
dissolve yourself in acid, flush yourself down the toilet.
Where is the Federal Review Board for Youth-Endangering Media?
...before I go to sleep, I do a line of snow.
Because of guys like me, you vote for the AfD...
...yesterday shots were fired at the chancellor...
...Bang, Bang, the limo was armored, what luck this bastard has.
Nonetheless, political criticism.
“Still the Boss“, a typical song that exists by the thousands in this genre, yet the piece sounds fresh, unused, and comes with a nice video in which possibly AfD politicians play a role. Bam, I have media presence.
It does give the impression that the entire album, the tracks, the videos, have been created with a certain calculation to produce a cohesive overall impression. This overall impression is a mix of the familiar from K.I.Z. and personal, sensitive portrayals from TAREK. It is precisely these personal portrayals that give the album personality. This personality is what makes the album a multifaceted release. Tracks like “Liebe“, “Kaputt wie ich“, “Letzte Chance“, and especially “Frühlingstag“ resonate deeply and were probably not easy for TAREK to write and release.
TAREK K.I.Z. has released an album with “Golem“ that on the surface may sound like commercial calculation. However, upon closer listening, the album is more than that. Perhaps even a very personal, vulnerable musical psychogram.
